<p>I can attest to this with UConn. Fifteen years ago, it was a safety for a lot of people, and nobody had heard of it outside our little state. A teacher told me that when her daughter moved west and told people she went to UConn, people thought she'd gone to school in the Yukon Territory in Canada.</p>
<p>Then both the men and women started winning in the mid-to-late 90s, and suddenly UConn's loaded with cash and attracting out-of-state applicants like crazy. The nice part is that a lot of their facilities are new (and really great), but it's become a lot harder to get into, and I think some kids kinda resent that. Central Connecticut State University's competitiveness is going up as well, since kids who would have gone to UConn in the 90's are going there today...and Central's starting to get pretty good at sports, too...</p>
<p>When Big 10 doormat Northwestern had their Rose Bowl run some years ago it really helped.</p>
<p>I'm sure the effect is greatest for Cinderella teams that are getting their first blast of sports publicity in years. At the same time, there's something to be said for being on TV and in the news year-in and year-out.</p>
<p>I agree with you. It's not about the basketball success per se, its about exposure to people who might never have heard of the school. </p>
<p>Case-in-point: Davidson College.</p>
<p>We're from San Diego. My son is a freshman at Davidson. My daughter will follow him there next year. With the exception of a few of his classmates and others exceptionally well-atuned to the college millieu, no one around here had ever heard of Davidson. "Where is that?" Do you mean Davison?" "Dickinson?"</p>
<p>Between a recent pre-tounament front-page feature in the New York Times and all the exposure they've been getting from their huge back-to-back upsets, no one asks anymore. The amount of the exposure - from TV, newspaper and internet - is breathtaking.</p>
<p>But, rather than simply knowing that Davidson has a legitimate basketball program, they also get to learn about the competitive admissions, academic rigor, liberal arts orientation, honor code culture, charming surrounding community - and, of course, free laundry service.</p>
<p>This sort of blanket coverage of colleges and universties is normally limited to to negative stories or tragedies. Duke Lacrosse. Virginia Tech. It is rare that a school gets this kind of constant favorable drumbeating and there is no amount of money that can buy it.</p>
<p>The application process for the Class of 2012 is over - admissions decisions are being sent out in days. It will be interesting to see if Davidson's "yield" exceeds projection - which could present an interesting challenge for such a small school where everyone is guaranteed on-campus housing.</p>
<p>I personally love basketball. I play it all the time. My perfect college would be one with one of the worst possible basketball teams in the leagues. lol.</p>